capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpa-sə-tər 

: a device that is used to store electrical energy

Examples of capacitor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gold is abundant in the region, which also has rich deposits of rare metals such as coltan, used to make capacitors, and niobium, used to make superalloys for jet engines and hypersonic missiles. —Emmet Livingstone, The Dial, 20 Mar. 2025

Eventually, that capacitor discharges, and out shoots a lightning bolt, five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. —Chris Wright, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2025

The region is rich in gold and coltan, a key mineral for the production of capacitors used in most consumer electronics such as laptops and smartphones. —Janvier Barhahiga and Monika Pronczuk The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2025

The latest injection of funds will be directed towards manufacturing components in-house, including capacitors for energy storage and magnetic coils for its prototype fusion reactor. —New Atlas, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpas-ət-ər 

: a device for storing electric charge

called also condenser

Medical Definition

capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpas-ət-ər 

: a device giving capacitance and usually consisting of conducting plates or foils separated by thin layers of dielectric (as air or mica) with the plates on opposite sides of the dielectric layers oppositely charged by a source of voltage and the electrical energy of the charged system stored in the polarized dielectric